So Close and Still So Far
by fanwriter1245
Summary: Sequel to Hamunaptra-City of Love? Ardeth and Serena are now married. When they see the O'Connells again to protect the bracelet of Anubis, Serena finds herself swept up in another adventure with her old friends as they try to rescue their son. But when Imhotep places a curse on Serena, and Ardeth has to leave them, will she make it out of this out of this one alive?
1. Finding Imhotep

Serena Gardner's life had been a whirlwind for the last several years. Everything had started out normal, but once she wanted a job at the local museum, everything had gone uphill from there! She met several great friends she was still close with, fell in love a couple times, had a run-in with a walking mummy, experienced the loss of a good friend, was kidnapped by said mummy, put the mummy to rest forever, became the first woman Medjai, and even got married!

Ardeth Bay. A man she never would've thought she'd meet, much less fall in love with! She wasn't the only one. The couple kept in slight touch with the O'Connells. Contact was difficult and extremely limited because of their location and the fact that they were always on the move, but they managed to communicate when they could. Serena learned that Rick and Evy had married and had a son. She figured he must've been eight by then. She hoped to meet him one day, but only time would tell. At that point, she hoped to see the O'Connells again, period.

Ever since they put the mummy to sleep, the Medjai made sure that he did not arise again, since apparently that was possible. The things Serena believed now!

Sure enough, they soon heard news that people were trying to resurrect Imhotep once again. She didn't know why anyone would want to do so, but there were definitely people who wanted him alive again. They were crazy. So the Medjai rode off to stop the man from coming back to life and bringing death and destruction with him.

They traveled back to Hamunaptra—the City of the Dead. A few years ago, Serena would've thought the place never existed. Now she guarded it with strict vigilance. When they came close, they saw a massive camp set up and an even bigger hole in the ground. Various people were in the hole digging, no doubt trying to find Imhotep.

"We can't let them find the creature. I will disguise myself as one of them and try to stop them from finding him. If I fail, at least I will know their plans for resurrecting him," Ardeth announced to his fellow companions.

"I'm coming with you," Serena said.

"No, my love. It is too dangerous."

Serena smiled. "We're in this together."

The two put their hoods over their faces and as discreetly as possible entered the camp. No one noticed the intruders as they were preoccupied with finding the corpse. Serena pointed out that the two books, of the Dead and of Life, had also been found. She watched in horror as mounds of sand appeared and unfortunately, she knew what came next, just from experience. Sure enough, thousands of scarabs filled the hole and everyone in it scrambled to get out before they were eaten. A few lucky people managed to escape, but most were eaten by the beetle-like creatures. Those who crawled out of the hole, but not fast enough, clawed at their skin as lumps wandered under it. Serena grimaced at the sight of tons of scarabs fly out of one man's mouth and couldn't help but remember the incident with the warden of Cairo prison all those years ago.

Men started using flamethrowers to ward off the scarabs and it worked wonders. A crane lifted a thick solid crystal-like object up to ground from the hole. They all knew it was in fact Imhotep, and they intended to use the Books to bring him back to life.

Three men pushed through the crowd to get to a man and a woman who were obviously the leaders of the party. Ardeth and Serena walked closer while the man demanded them to procure an object, apparently a bracelet, but the men admitted they didn't have it.

"Where is the bracelet?" the woman asked.

"It's on its way to merry old London!" one of the men responded.

"Then London we must go!" the leader responded.

Ardeth and Serena made eye contact at the statement. There was no doubt that the bracelet was with the O'Connells. They knew what this meant. It was time to see their old friends again.

* * *

**A/N: Looks like Serena's getting her wish! I know, the first chapter's kinda slow. I had to establish what's happened with Serena over the years and then get the whole finding Imhotep thing out of the way! Review!  
**


	2. Evy Kidnapped!

Serena was trembling with excitement. It had been almost ten years since she had seen her friends, and after all was said and done, she didn't know if she'd ever see them again. This was a moment she had to cherish.

The journey was only a few days, but it seemed like much longer than that. When the couple _finally _pulled up into the O'Connells driveway, Serena saw two other cars of the exact same style already here.

"That's not good," she whispered, her excitement dwindling.

They ran into the house, Ardeth taking the lead by a mile. When Serena finally caught up, they paused outside the door, listening to the conversation, waiting for the right moment to enter.

"Get…out…of my house," Serena heard her friend say as the sound of a sword unsheathing rang out.

"Whoa, Mum, maybe not the best idea!" a little boy said. She assumed it was their son.

"Alex, get back there!"

They heard more footsteps and evidently, more men walked into the room.

"Definitely not the best idea!" the little boy cried again. "I think it's time to yell for Dad now."

Serena couldn't help but smile at the comment. If only he knew what his mother was really capable of!

"Now I will kill you and take it anyway!" a familiar voice said. Serena let out a small sigh as she thought about the owner of the voice. The Medjai had fought with him and his kind for a long time.

"I think not," Ardeth said as he walked into the room.

"Ardeth, what are you doing here?"

"Perhaps explanations are best left for later."

Serena followed her husband into the room and approached the other side of her friend.

"Serena?"

"Hello, Evy," Serena answered with a huge smile on her face. She took in the fact that her friend looked incredibly different from the last time she had seen her. She was no longer the little bookworm Serena had known. Her gorgeous black hair was so luscious and flowed like a waterfall down her head. She had discovered mascara and eyeliner and applied much of it around her perfect eyes. Serena wondered if she had gone through such a change too, and maybe Evy felt the same way about her.

She wanted so direly to give her friend a huge hug. After all, the two women hadn't seen each other for nearly a decade. But they knew it would have to wait.

"Ardeth Bay," an African-American man said. Serena looked at him and immediately recognized him: the owner of that horrid voice. He was the second-in-command of a cult and a ruthless one who used violence at any moment possible.

"Lock-Nah," Ardeth stated.

He looked at Serena. "Serena Gardner."

Serena smiled and gave a small bow. She pulled her sword out of her sheath and held it firmly in front of her, ready to fight. "Just like old times, huh?" she smiled at her friend.

_"__Al lif!"_ Lock-Nah yelled. Ardeth and Serena threw off their capes, and the men started fighting the three people furiously. Evy did an impressive back-flip and used her sword to defend herself. Meanwhile, Serena took her sword and fought one of the men who had charged her. After temporarily disabling him, she turned to look at the small boy. "Hi, you must be Alex! I'm Serena Gardner! I'm your mom's best friend!"

The man came back at her and she kicked him in the gut and then punched him in the face and knocked his sword out of his hand once more. It slid under the bookshelf, where he attempted to get it, but appeared unsuccessful. She turned back to him. "It's so nice to finally meet you! I've heard so much about you!"

Evy made a successful move on her own two opponents, and Alex cried, "Whoa, Mum, where did you learn to do that?"

"I have no idea!" she answered. A man came and choked her, but she managed to punch him away. "That I learned from your father!" Serena smiled having witnessed that same move so long ago.

"Not bad…for some Medjai," Lock-Nah sneered.

Serena looked at him deviously. "Compliment taken."

One of the men tried to take the chest from Alex, though the boy held onto it firmly. It wasn't enough. The man took the chest and Alex fell to the floor.

Serena helped him up. "Are you alright?"

The boy just nodded as Serena fought off even more men.

"What's in the chest?!" Ardeth shouted.

"The bracelet of Anubis!" Evy shouted back.

Throughout the fighting, Ardeth and Serena made eye contact with each other.

Lock-Nah threw off his cape and drew his sword. He began to fight Ardeth and boy, was he good! Their swords knocked against each other and punches landed. Ardeth got hit twice in the face, but delivered a good one to Lock-Nah. Lock-Nah managed to sock him again in the stomach and face. Serena wanted to help him, but she couldn't shake off these men!

"Ardeth!" she cried.

"They must not get the bracelet!" he yelled to her and Evy. "Get it and get out of here!"

"I'm not leaving you!" Serena yelled.

"You must!"

Alex overturned a bookshelf on one of the men and Serena smiled at him. She went back to fighting when she heard him scream, "Mom, look out!" She turned and saw a huge man whack Evy on the head, sending her out cold.

"Evelyn!"

"Evy!" Serena ran after her, but one of the cultists came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She remembered what Ardeth had told her to do in this situation and hit him first in the side with her elbow, then stomped on his foot, then used her hand to hit his nose, then finally hit him where a man should NOT be hit. By the time her attacker was defeated, Evy was gone, and Lock-Nah was finishing up attacking Ardeth. He threw a huge blade at him and it hit the wall as he moved just in time. He threw his cape back on and left.

Serena ran over to Ardeth and looked at the large cut on the front of his shoulder. "Are you okay?" she asked with fear in her eyes for him.

He looked at her with those beautiful brown eyes of his, a trait that had first drawn her towards him. "I'm fine, but Evelyn is not!" She, Ardeth, and Alex all ran out to the front and were greeted by Rick and Jonathon.

They arrived just in time to see the car that held Evy prisoner taking off after shooting bullets at Rick.

"Evy!" Serena screamed.

Some reunion.


	3. Mummy Fight

"Dad! Dad!" Alex called, running up to his father.

Rick picked up his son and pulled him close. "Son, are you alright?" he asked urgently.

"Yeah," Alex responded, though everyone knew that no one was really alright.

"O'Connell," Ardeth said calmly as gave a little bow to his old friend.

Without warning, Rick took Ardeth by the front of his clothes and slammed him onto a pillar in pure anger.

"Rick, stop!" Serena screamed to him. She was not going to let him hurt her husband!

"What the heck are you two doing here?! Who are those guys and where are they taking my wife?!" Rick screamed in his face.

Ardeth made him release his firm hold. "My friend, I'm not sure." He held up a picture for him to see. "But wherever this man is, your wife will surely be."

Serena glanced at the picture of the leader of the cult and felt anger surge through her at him, 1) for finding Imhotep and attempting to resurrect him again, 2) for sending those people into her friend's house and 3) for kidnapping her best friend!

Alex grabbed the picture from Ardeth's hand. "Hey, I know him! He's the curator! He works at the British Museum!"

"Are you sure?" Ardeth asked.

"You better believe him," Rick said more calm now. "He spends more time there than he does at home!"

Serena laughed. "He's definitely Evy's son!"

The group started walking towards Rick's car so they could all go rescue Evy and prevent Imhotep from rising again.

"Okay, so you guys are here, bad guys are here, Evy's been kidnapped, let me guess…" Rick said.

"Yes," Ardeth answered. "They've once again removed the creature from his grave."

"Not to point fingers or anything," Jonathon interjected, "but isn't that your job to make sure that doesn't happen?"

Serena looked at him. "Not pointing fingers, huh?" she said angrily. Then her face and tone softened. "We tried to stop them, but there were too many of them and not enough of us. We did manage to sneak in and at least figure out what their plans were."

"There's a woman who is with them. She knows things. Things that no living person could possibly know," Ardeth explained.

"It's my guess that she isn't technically living. I mean if they can resurrect Imhotep, why not someone else from the same time period who could assist them?" Serena said.

"She knew exactly where the creature was buried. We were hoping she would lead us to the bracelet. She obviously did, and now they have it."

"I wouldn't get too nervous just yet," Alex said amidst the adults. He pulled back his jacket sleeve and revealed the Bracelet of Anubis on his wrist!

"Is that gold…?" Jonathon remarked. Serena rolled her eyes. Nice to see he hadn't changed at all.

"When I put it on, I saw the pyramids of Giza, then WHOOSH! Straight across the desert to Karnak!"

Ardeth looked at him with complete seriousness. "By putting that on, you have started a chain reaction that could bring about the next apocalypse!"

Serena saw Alex's eyes go wide and looked at her husband. "Ardeth!" she said sternly. "He's eight!"

Rick pointed to Ardeth, "You, lighten up," pointed to Serena, "You, keep him in line," pointed to Alex, "You, big trouble," pointed to Jonathon, "You, get in the car."

"I'm sorry, Alex," Serena apologized as they all crammed into Rick's car. "Sometimes Ardeth forgets who he's talking to. But that's why he's got me. To remind him."

Alex rolled his eyes and Serena couldn't help but giggle. He was definitely a typical eight-year-old in the sense that he hated mushiness! She'd have to be more careful about what she said if she ever wanted to form a good relationship with him.

Rick took off with Ardeth in the passenger seat and Alex, Serena, and Jonathon all smushed way too close for comfort in the back.

"I'm sorry if I alarmed your son," Ardeth said, "but you must understand, now that the bracelet is on his wrist, we only have seven days before the Scorpion King awakens."

"We, what we?" Rick demanded.

"If he is not killed, he will raise the Army of Anubis."

"I take it that's not a good thing," Jonathon said.

"Oh, he'll wipe out the world," Rick said so nonchalantly, it almost made Serena angry.

"Ah, the old wipe-out-the-world ploy."

"Whoever can kill the Scorpion King can send his army back to the Underworld or use it to destroy mankind and rule the earth," Ardeth explained.

"You can guess how many people will go for the former," Serena added.

"So that's why they dug up old Imhotep," Rick put together. "He's the only guy tough enough to take out the Scorpion King."

"That is their plan," Ardeth said darkly.

Serena rolled her eyes. Yeah this was bad, but Ardeth made it sound so much worse, which was just a part of who he was. It drove Serena absolutely crazy! But she certainly loved him anyway. In their relationship, they evened out. Ardeth got dark fast, Serena was always perky and upbeat. It was like they were the missing piece of each other's personality. That's how they knew they were meant for each other.

They kept driving until they finally arrived at the British Museum and they all got out of the car. Serena stretched out her legs. She had been in the car for a total of ten minutes, and already she was cramped up.

"Ardeth," she said as she approached him and laid her hands on his chest. "Don't act so dark. Yeah, this is really not good. But be thankful that at least we can keep an eye on the bracelet rather than the cult having it in their possession." They met each other's eyes. "You never were one to look at the positives. I knew that when I married you." Serena smiled and playfully pushed him.

"Now, Alex," Rick said to his son, "I have a big job for you. I want you to stay here and protect the car."

"Protect the car?" Alex asked flatly. "Come on, Dad, just because I'm a kid doesn't mean I'm stupid."

"I know that!"

Jonathon looked at them. "If you see anyone coming out screaming, it's just me."

They all looked back at him. "Maybe you should stay here," Rick suggested.

"Yes, now you're talking!"

Rick went to the trunk and opened it to reveal all sorts of different weapons. "Do you want the shotgun?" he asked Ardeth.

"No, I prefer the Thompson," he replied.

"I'll take the shotgun," Serena said, and Rick handed it and ammo to her.

"You sure you know what you're doing with that?"

"Look, Rick, I'm not the same girl I was nine years ago. I've changed a lot and you just need to trust me."

The trio began to load up their weapons when Ardeth looked at Rick strangely. Serena followed his gaze and noticed that he was looking at a tattoo on Rick's wrist. But not just any tattoo…

Nonchalantly, Ardeth asked him, "If I were to say to you 'I am a stranger travelling from the east, searching for that which is lost…'"

"I would reply, 'I am a stranger from the west. It is I that you seek." Rick spoke it slowly as if the words were coming out of his mouth not under his control.

Ardeth grabbed Rick's arm. "Then it is true. You have the sacred mark."

"What, that?" Rick asked looking at the tattoo. "Nah, I got that slapped on me when I was in the orphanage in Cairo."

"That mark means you are a protector of man, a warrior for God…a Medjai!"

Serena's mouth dropped open. "Rick, you're a Medjai?"

"Sorry, but you got the wrong guy!"

Ardeth and Serena looked at each other, not willing to believe what he said.

The three began to walk through the dark museum, being cautiously aware of their surroundings. Serena couldn't help but shudder at the sight of the mummies. Though she knew they were fake, the thought of what she had faced years ago still haunted her mind. Just when she had those thoughts, the mummies actually came to life! "Seriously?" she groaned. They all ran into hiding before the mummies could capture them, or even worse, kill them.

They managed to make it to a balcony that overlooked the ritual that was evidently happening.

"Evy!" Serena whispered, seeing her friend slowly wake up, wrists bound and laying on a stone slab. She looked at the crystallized object that people were bowing down to.

A hand shot out of the crystallized thing, followed by the rest of the body with an unearthly yell Serena knew all too well. "Oh, no…It's him…" she whispered. She looked on in horror as all the memories from nine years ago flooded back to her all at once. She tried to shake off the images and focus on the scene before her.

The same woman from Hamunaptra who was helping everyone resurrect Imhotep came into the room.

"Do not be frightened," the curator told her.

"I am not afraid," she answered. "I am Anck-su-namun reincarnated," she told Imhotep in Ancient Egyptian. Ardeth had taught Serena the language over the last few years, and she certainly enjoyed being up to par without needing translations every ten seconds.

The three on the balcony looked at each other. If that truly was Anck-su-namun, then that explained why she knew so much. It also meant that their love would once again become whole and considering what had happened last time, that was not a good thing. So Serena had been right. The woman was not technically living…

"You know," Rick said, "a couple of years ago, this would've all seemed very strange to me."

"You and me both!" Serena said.

"Imhotep will be much pleased," the curator said to Lock-Nah as he opened the chest. Their pleased smile disappeared as they pulled out a small statue. "Where is the bracelet?"

Lock-Nah looked up angrily. "I think I know."

"That's not good," Serena breathed. "Does he know Alex has it on?"

"I'm not sure," Ardeth said. "But we must protect the bracelet now more than anything. Lock-Nah will stop at nothing to get the bracelet and that includes harming the boy."

"I have a gift for you," the woman said and pointed to Evy.

"HER!" Imhotep screamed.

"I knew it would please you to watch her die!"

"That's really not good!" Serena said. "We have to do something!" She started to get up, but Ardeth pulled her back, and she knew that against her will, she would have to wait.

Several men picked up the slab and carried her over to a pit of fire.

"The Underworld awaits you!" Imhotep laughed.

"You wait! I'll put you in your grave again!"

"Our thought was not if we put you in yours first!" the curator said.

"BURN HER!" Imhotep and the woman yelled.

The men started to tip over the slab and Evy screamed. That was enough for Rick and he sprung into action. He ran over to the fire and actually jumped through it and landed on the slab. Evy fell over onto Rick's shoulder. Ardeth and Serena started shooting at the men. The mummy looked up at them and even though he was not even in human form, Serena could see the anger on his face as he recognized them, especially Serena. In fact, the look he gave her made her blood run cold. He looked at her like he wanted to kill her, which she knew he did. But there was more, like he _needed_ her dead.

"MEELA!" Lock-Nah yelled as he gave the woman a gun. She started shooting up at the couple, but Serena managed to graze the woman's arm, causing her to drop the gun. She held her arm in pain, but quickly got over it, and continued to shoot at the two.

Rick and Evy ran back up to the balcony. "Evy!" Serena exclaimed as she tightly hugged her friend. The hug didn't last long as they watched Imhotep summon up the mummy guards from the dust in an urn.

"DESTROY THEM!" Imhotep screamed.

"Oh, not these guys again!" Rick groaned. The four all ran out of the museum at lightning speed, the mummies close behind them. They made it to the entrance and started running back to Rick's car. Evy turned around and moved a bench in front of the door to try to stall them. Rick and Serena ran back to her and grabbed her arms.

"These guys don't use doors!" Rick screamed.

They kept running when they saw Jonathon pull up in a double-decker bus! Rick was not happy at the new mode of transportation. Evy, Ardeth, and Serena all boarded the bus, not caring what they rode in as long as they got away, while Rick still argued with Jonathon.

"It was his idea!" Jonathon screamed, pointing at Alex.

"Was not!" Alex screamed.

"Was too!"

"Was not!"

Rick boarded the bus and Jonathon took off. The mummies crashed through the wall and started bounding after them, crushing Rick's car in the process, and literally blowing it up.

"Oh, I hate mummies!" Rick said.

"Glad to see us now?" Ardeth asked him.

"Just like old times, huh?"

"Hey, that's my line," Serena said as she smiled.

The mummies tried boarding the bus and landed on top of it, but the three of them were prepared. Guns loaded, they tried to fire at the mummies, but how can you shoot something that's already dead?

They kept shooting at the mummies, defeating few of them. One of the mummies got on the bus and managed to knock the gun out of his hand and knock him across the bus.

"Ardeth!" Serena screamed as she ran to him. "Are you okay?" Before he could answer, Serena felt herself roughly pulled back and flew across the bus to the back. The mummy grabbed her by the neck and lifted her up off the floor. She tried to squirm out of his grasp as she choked for air. Ardeth hopped onto the back of the mummy and twisted its head off his body. The mummy dropped a coughing Serena onto the ground. Ardeth threw the head out of the bus, and the mummy went after it but ended up getting hit by another bus in the process.

Ardeth bent down and lightly touched Serena. "Are you alright, my love?"

Serena looked at him and smiled. This was nothing.

Overhead, they could hear Rick battling it out with more of the mummies.

A mummy below jumped onto a seat and they all watched in horror as its fingernails grew much longer and sharper. Without warning, it slashed Ardeth across the chest leaving several deep gashes.

"NO!" Serena screamed. The mummy threw Ardeth across the bus again and proceeded to throw Serena right on top of him, leaving several scratch marks on her arms from the claws. It bent over the exhausted couple when a gunshot rang out. They saw Evy with a gun blasting the mummy to bits. While the mummy was gone, there was a huge crash, and they realized that Jonathon was driving under a low bridge and the entire top of the bus was coming off! Serena prayed that Rick was okay up there.

The bus finally pulled off to a stop.

Serena went over to Evy and hugged her tightly.

"Serena, I'm so glad to see you again!"

"You too, Evy, though this isn't quite the reunion I was envisioning."

"Well, you know us. Never a dull moment!"

Serena laughed and crashed onto one of the seats next to Ardeth, both absolutely worn out from all this fighting. Ardeth held his wound left from the mummy's nails and wrapped his other arm around Serena and pulled her close. It was times like these when they realized they were lucky to have each other.

Rick came off the top of the bus and looked at the couple. "Hey, you alright?"

"This was my first bus ride," Ardeth laughed.

Evy beckoned Rick over to her and they hugged and kissed closely. Serena and Ardeth ended up doing the same.

"Get a room!" Alex groaned. Serena smiled as she kissed Ardeth again.

Suddenly, they all heard Alex screaming and Serena ran off the bus to find that someone had grabbed him and was trying to get him into their car.

"Hey!" Serena screamed. She began to run to the man holding Alex when another man dressed the same way stopped her. They fought before the man grabbed her already bruised throat and slammed her onto the ground. She gave a small shout in pain as she watched Rick run after the car that was taking off.

"ALEX!" Evy screamed.

Ardeth ran over to Serena and helped her up. "Serena!"

"I'm fine, I'm fine," she said weakly, clinging to him for support. She had never felt so angry at herself. She should've been able to stop that man and she should've been able to save Alex. It wasn't long before Rick stumbled back…empty-handed. Alex was gone.

* * *

**A/N: This part always made me so sad. I can't imagine what it's like to lose a child like that. Review! :)  
**


	4. The Journey Begins

Rick hugged a crying Evy close to him and rubbed her head trying to console her. Ardeth tried to convince Serena that it wasn't her fault that the cult got away.

"Please do not fear for your son, my friends," Ardeth said to them all. "They cannot hurt him for he wears the bracelet."

"Alex is wearing the bracelet?" Evy asked.

"Yeah!" Serena exclaimed. "At least we know that he's safe as he can be. That's something!"

"When he put it on, he said he saw the pyramids of Giza and the temple of Karnak," Rick told her.

"Yes, and when they reach Karnak, the bracelet will show him the next step of the journey," Ardeth said.

"If we don't reach Karnak before them, we won't have any idea where to look for them next!" Evy said urgently.

"Seems to me like we need a magic carpet," Rick said slyly.

Serena wondered what in the world Rick had planned to get them to Karnak.

* * *

Ardeth and Serena met with the other Medjai and arrived on horseback to the place where Rick had told them to meet him. There was another man with them. He was an African-American with several gold teeth and a flyer's helmet on. Serena couldn't help but think of the warden who had joined them on the trip to Hamunaptra when she saw him. She certainly hoped he didn't meet the same fate as that man.

Ardeth and Serena dismounted from their horses and walked up to Rick.

"These are the commanders of the 12 tribes of the Medjai," Ardeth told them. "Horus!" he called.

Serena smiled as a gorgeous hawk flew to his awaiting hand from one of the commanders'.

"Pet bird!" Jonathon remarked.

"My best and most clever friend, aside from my beautiful wife," Ardeth answered. "He will let the commanders know of our progress, so that they may follow."

Serena and Ardeth turned to the commanders and raised their arms. "_Hala hu mana!_" they shouted. The commanders repeated the phrase and all of the members of the Medjai placed their raised hand over their heart, a symbol that unified them as one. Serena watched as the commanders galloped off. They felt like family to her after having spent so much time with them over the course of the last nine years.

"If the Army of Anubis rises, they will do all they can to stop it," Ardeth told them. Hopefully, they would not get to that point and could rescue Alex before anything like that happened.

"You sure he's reliable?" Evy said about the black man.

"Yeah, he's reliable…" Rick answered, "…ish," he added sheepishly.

They rounded a corner and saw a huge balloon tied up to what looked like a ship. It was magnificent aircraft, but Serena wasn't sure it looked structurally sound.

"Isn't she beautiful?" the man asked the group.

"It's a balloon," Rick said disbelievingly.

"It's a dirigible."

"Where's your airplane?"

"Airplanes are a thing of the past."

"Izzy, you were right."

"I was?"

"Yeah, you're gonna get shot!" Rick whipped out his gun, but Serena was faster and knocked it out of his hand with her foot. "Whoa," he said as he just looked at her.

She smiled. "I told you I'm not the same girl I was nine years ago. I've been learning all sorts of stuff!"

"Look, she's faster than she looks," Izzy said, defending his beauty. "She's quiet, really quiet, great for sneaking up on people, which is a very good thing. Unless of course we go for your approach: marching in face first, guns blazing, and getting your friends shot!"

Serena couldn't help but giggle at that last remark. That did seem to be a recurring habit of Rick's. Rick reached for his gun in the sand that Serena had knocked out of his grasp.

"Don't do that again," Rick said firmly to Serena.

"Don't go trying to shoot people and I won't have to!" she argued with a glimmer in her eye.

They started to walk towards the balloon, when Ardeth said, "Why can't you people ever keep your feet on the ground?"

Serena outright laughed at that remark. "You know we travel faster in the air!"

"Even still, we've managed to thrive on horses for thousands of years."

"Look, sweetie, I respect that, but let's just say it's British/American culture and move on!"

Ardeth put his arm around her neck and walked with her to the awaiting vessel. They boarded and watched many of the children in the village wave them off. Serena smiled and waved back at the young children, wishing she had one of her own. Here she was helping her friends get their child back. They had no idea how much she wished she had a child to defend and protect. She guessed that that was why she was fighting so hard for Alex. It was almost like he was her own son and she felt that she needed to protect him just as much as Rick and Evy did. It filled the missing void in her of not having her own child.

Hours passed and the day soon turned into night as the moon appeared high in the sky. Evy stood towards the front of the ship in thought, while Rick passed around some coffee to Jonathon, Ardeth, and Serena.

"O'Connell doesn't want to believe," Ardeth stated, "but he flies like Horus towards his destiny."

"Oh, yes, yes, very interesting. Tell me more about this gold pyramid," Jonathon said.

"Jonathon, I can't believe after everything you've been through, gold is the only thing ever on your mind!" Serena laughed.

"Money makes the world go 'round, Serena, love!"

"Well, if you really want to know about the pyramid, it is written that since the time of the Scorpion King, no man that has laid eyes upon it has ever returned to tell the tale." She hoped that would scare him enough to make him not want to visit anymore, but of course, it didn't.

Instead he remarked, "Where's all this stuff written?" He stopped talking as he laid hands on the scepter that he had owned before Rick took it and gave it to Izzy in return for a ride in his balloon. He looked to make sure Izzy didn't notice the theft. "It's all I have left in the world. The rest of my fortune was lost – to rather unscrupulous characters actually."

"Jonathon, have you been gambling again?" Serena asked playfully.

"No…just card-playing and making some very bad calls."

"If the curator reacted to it the way you say, it must be very important," Ardeth told him. "If I were you, I would keep it close."

"My friend, the gods couldn't take this away from me!" No sooner had the words left his mouth, Izzy's hands flew to the scepter and took it from him. They fought over it a little before Izzy finally was victorious.

Ardeth and Serena could only laugh at the two men. They were such a far cry from the Medjai they spent their days with.

Serena went below to rest so she would be fully equipped to find Alex, knowing she wouldn't be getting much sleep in the days ahead. It wasn't long before she felt Ardeth lie down next to her. She snuggled closer to him and felt herself safe in his warm embrace. Her head and hand rested on his chest and his arms wrapped around her. He gave her head a small kiss and they both went to sleep happy.

* * *

**A/N: AWWW! Ardeth and Serena are so cute :)) BTW, their ship name is Ardena, just an FYI... Please review :)**


	5. Day 1

When Serena awoke, Ardeth was no longer next to her and the spot was not warm, signaling he had been up for a while. She got up and rubbed her drowsy eyes and tousled her thick brown hair. She smoothed out her dress as best she could and prayed she didn't smell too bad. To calm her hair down, she tied it into a side braid over her left shoulder and placed a thin veil over her head to shield herself from the ever-beating sun.

She went up onto the deck and saw Ardeth approach her.

"Good morning, my love," he said as he gave her a peck on the forehead. "Did you sleep well? You definitely need your rest. We have a very long journey ahead of us once we get to Karnak."

Serena smiled. "Yes, I slept well, especially with you by my side."

"O'Connell has a bit of food for breakfast for you. We've already eaten."

"How long was I asleep?"

"Quite a while. It is around 11:00."

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to sleep so long!"

"No, dear, you needed all the sleep you can get. We all do."

O'Connell came up to Serena with some food in his hand. "Hey, Serena, eat this. You need to keep your strength up. We'll try to get more once we land."

He handed her a small slice of bread and some crackers and a couple grapes. Serena ate slowly, making the food last since she didn't know when she would get the chance to eat again.

The day dragged on and Serena just wanted to be at Karnak already. Not only was she bored out of her mind, but she was immensely worried about Alex. To pass the time, the five of them all caught up with one another considering they had been apart for nine years and had much to tell.

Serena shared with them that she spent nearly every day on horseback traveling and guarding Hamunaptra. When they stopped and rested for the night, she spent hours learning fighting skills or new languages from Ardeth and other Medjai. She was now fluent in Ancient Egyptian, which would come in handy when dealing with Imhotep, Arabic, Greek, and Latin. Though Serena knew how to fight with a gun and aim to kill, she much preferred fighting with her sword.

Evy told of her wedding day and the story of Rick's proposal. Apparently, he was sweating and extremely nervous. He took them out to a fancy restaurant and then to the hotel they had stayed at when they returned from Hamunaptra after defeating Imhotep, their first night as a couple. (Nothing happened in the hotel other than passionate kissing!) He brought her up to the room they had stayed in and there were rose petals everywhere. That was when Rick bent down on one knee and asked her to be his. A while after their wedding, Evy found herself pregnant with Alex. He learned at a very young age how to read hieroglyphics and hieratic and certainly shared his mother's love of Egyptian history.

They exchanged stories all day, good and bad, and the time passed quicker. As the sun began to set, Evy excused herself and went to stand against the railing of the ship. Serena knew all this talk of Alex was making her miss him even more, and she just needed a moment to compose herself.

Soon Jonathon went below to rest, or Serena guessed to plot how to steal back his scepter, so it was just Ardeth, Serena, and Rick.

"If a man does not embrace his past, he has no future," Ardeth said to Rick. It was obvious they both knew what he was talking about.

"Even if I was some sort of sacred Medjai, what good does that do me now?"

"It is the missing piece of your heart. If you embrace it, if you can accept it, you can do anything."

"It's true, Rick," Serena said. "Ever since Ardeth began training me and teaching me the ways of the Medjai, I've been able to do things I never thought I'd be able to do."

"Sounds great," Rick answered sarcastically before changing the subject. "What can we expect from our old friend Imhotep?"

"His powers are returning quickly," Ardeth answered. "By the time he reaches Ahm Shere, even the Scorpion King won't be able to stop him."

"And that's definitely not good," Serena chimed in. "If the Scorpion King can't stop him, we can't, and life as we know it is over." She looked over at Evy and caught her eyes. Serena has never seen so much sorrow and pain in them. On the contrary, they were usually filled with fire and spirit. Evy looked away, unwilling to meet her gaze any longer.

Serena heard some faint whispers, but she passed it off as the wind and kept an eye on Evy, and noticed something weird. Her facial expressions were all over the place. One second she looked confused, then she looked angry, then she looked horrified. Then without warning, she toppled over the side of the ship!

"EVY!" Serena screamed as she ran to her. Rick beat her to the side and grabbed Evy's legs. Rick lost his footing and Serena grabbed him as Ardeth and Jonathon grabbed her. Evy stared at the ground and screamed again, obviously coming back to her senses.

"Pull!" Ardeth ordered. Jonathon and Ardeth and stumbled back as Serena tried to walk back, holding Rick firmly in her grasp. Once he was close enough, Ardeth ran to Rick and helped Serena pull the couple back onto the safety of the ship. They all collapsed onto the ground, panting.

"Evy, what were you thinking?" Serena gasped.

"You're never going to believe this…" she answered.

* * *

**A/N: I know, this chapter was kinda boring, but at least we got to see what Serena and Evy's lives have been like over the last nine years :)  
**


	6. Imhotep's Curse

And she was right. Even though Serena had seen some weird stuff in the past few years, even this was a bit much.

"Evy, I know you haven't exactly been yourself lately with all these dreams and visions…" Rick started.

"No no, they're memories from my previous life. Honestly, I'm not losing my mind, it makes perfect sense now!" Evy said.

So now they were dealing with reincarnation? First a mummy rises, not once but twice, and now Evy is actually a princess from another life? Serena's head began to swim.

"And that's the reason we found the bracelet?" Rick asked.

"Exactly, I was its protector," Evy answered.

"Now do you believe my friend?" Ardeth said to Rick. "Clearly you were destined to protect this woman."

"Right. She's a reincarnated princess and I'm a warrior for God," Rick said sarcastically. Serena began to feel a little queasy and she didn't know why. She was aware of Ardeth's worried look, but she tried to pass it all off.

"And your son is the way to Ahm Shere," Ardeth continued. "Three sides to the pyramid. This was all preordained thousands of years ago."

"And how does the story end?" Evy asked, though her tone suggested she was afraid of the answer.

"Only the journey is written, not the destination."

"Convenient," Rick muttered.

"How else do you explain Evy's visions?" Ardeth countered. "That it is your son who wears the bracelet? How do you explain your mark?"

"Coincidence," he answered flatly.

"My friend, there is a fine line between coincidence and fate," Ardeth said in that mysterious tone of his that Serena loved so much. However, she had no time to appreciate it now. Little voices whispered in her ear and she couldn't make out what they were saying or what language it was. Her head started to swim even more. She tried to stand up to leave and immediately fell back down again on all fours, coughing and retching. Her whole body ached. Something had happened to her and she had no doubt that Imhotep was behind it.

"Serena!" a chorus of voices cried. She felt Ardeth's strong hands on her as she continued to cough.

"Ardeth, what's happening to me?" Serena gasped. She coughed a bit more and then it finally subsided. She sank back into Ardeth's arms as he held her shaking form and gripped her hand.

"Imhotep has done something to you. He needs you out of the picture. You are one of the main reasons he was sent back to the Underworld and he needs you out of the way so he can complete his plan."

"What do you mean?"

Ardeth took a deep sigh, knowing that what was happening was going to be very difficult for the both of them. "He's limited your life-span. The Army of Anubis is the trigger. If he arises the Army of Anubis, your life will be taken from you within the hour."

Serena felt her stomach drop as her eyes watered. She felt Ardeth's soft tug and allowed herself to lean into his chest and begin to sob. Ardeth held her close and rubbed her soft hair. They stayed there on the deck all night. Serena fell asleep in his arms and woke up the same way.

* * *

**A/N: This one was short, sorry! What's going to happen to Serena with Imhotep's curse? It's all heating up now! P.S. Little side note: I don't believe in reincarnation, so this chapter does not reflect my beliefs.  
**


	7. Wall of Water, uh, Head of Water?

"Ardeth," she said softly, shaking him awake. "We're in Karnak."

She realized that they were both lying on the deck, having fallen asleep there, while the others peered over the railing as Izzy lowered the vessel.

Rick and Ardeth ran across the sand to a train that might be housing the cult, and more importantly, Alex.

Serena and Evy examined inside the temple to see if there may be any clues there. The place seemed to be abandoned and Serena was starting to lose hope. After all, if no one was here, they didn't know where they were going.

"RICK!" she heard Evy scream. The three of them all ran to her side to find her holding Alex's tie. They looked on the ground and saw a creation made from the sand, no doubt made by Alex's hands.

"It's the Temple Island of Philae," Evy said as she touched the sand. "They've gone to Philae!"

"Atta boy, Alex!" Rick said. He grabbed Evy's arms and they all ran back to the dirigible to try to make it to the next location and find the boy and stop Imhotep. They now worked quicker and with more urgency as they now had more than one reason to find Imhotep. Save Alex and Serena.

They touched down in Philae and saw another sand creation. "The great temple of Abu Simbel," Evy explained.

Serena watched as Ardeth rolled up a small piece of paper with Arabic instructions written on it to Horus's foot. He sent the bird off to the Medjai commanders and Serena smiled at the majestic creature.

The process repeated once they reached the temple. By this time, Serena was starting to feel drained and she didn't know whether it was from Imhotep's curse or all the running around or both. But they were close and she couldn't stop now.

They were flying through a gorge to get to the next location. All was still and peaceful. So of course, something was wrong. Because the peace didn't last long before a quiet rumbling started, getting louder and louder with each passing second.

All of a sudden, Izzy screamed, "We're in trouble!"

They all turned around and saw a huge wall of water come straight for them! As it got closer, a face appeared in the wall and that's when it all made sense. It was Imhotep controlling the water, just like he had with the wall of sand all those years ago that swallowed up the plane the guys were riding to come rescue Serena and Evy when Imhotep had taken them.

"Horus, fly!" Ardeth commanded, freeing the bird from the imminent danger.

Rick spun around and looked ahead of them. "Izzy!" he screamed. "Come hard right! Starboard! STARBOARD!"

Izzy pulled a lever and a cannon on the back of the vessel propelled them forward just as the water nearly closed on them. The rough lurch caused Serena to fall backwards, but Ardeth caught her before she hit the ground. Izzy rammed around the wall in the gorge and the water sped up trying to catch up to them. But the face crashed right into the stone wall and water flew on the accelerating balloon, drenching Izzy in cold water. He took another sharp turn and everyone rammed into the side of the ship. The balloon slowed down as it appeared the water creature was beaten. Izzy climbed back up onto the steering wheel and glared at Rick. "Was there a little something you forgot to mention? Hmm?"

There was silence, aside from everyone's panting.

"Uh, people?" Jonathon said. Everyone turned around and looked at the beautiful, lush jungles of Ahm Shere. And there was the rumored pyramid, the diamond on top of it glistening in the sun.

They made it.

Rumbling was heard once more and everyone's heads whipped around at the sickening sound. They saw Imhotep's water head maneuvering through the walls of the gorge and getting faster and closer.

"He's back!" Izzy yelled. "Hang on!" The engines propelled again, but no one fell this time. Suddenly, they stopped moving fast as the engines died down and finally stopped.

"Well, that's not good," Izzy mumbled.

The water came even closer still and Serena knew there would be no avoiding it this time.

"Hang on!" Rick screamed to everyone. Serena latched herself onto the side of the vessel as Ardeth wrapped his body around hers in a protective embrace. Rick did the same with Evy, Izzy hung onto the steering wheel, and Jonathon grasped onto the railings. The water came into impact with the balloon and it began to crash down. Serena screamed as water filled her mouth and she felt the ground whizzing towards her and waited for the teeth-jarring impact and prayed she would still be alive.


	8. Ardeth Leaves

Serena coughed out water as her blurry vision started to adjust. She realized she had been knocked out and Ardeth was helping her sit up. They were all drenched, but they were alive.

"Are you alright, my love?" Ardeth asked her.

"Yes, I'm fine, just sore." Her side braid was still intact, but it certainly wasn't neat.

The vessel was in ruins and she had no idea how they were ever going to get out of here.

"We're gonna go get my son!" Rick announced. "Then we're gonna wanna get out of here fast, so make this work, Izzy!"

"No, no you don't understand!" Izzy shouted back. "This thing was filled with gas. Not hot air! Gas! I need gas to get this thing off the ground! Where am I gonna get gas from around here? Huh?! Bananas? Mangos?! Tarzan's butt?!"

Serena laughed at that last one, though she tried to hide it. But she looked over at Ardeth and he was smiling too as they took what they needed from the burning vessel.

"Well," Izzy continued, "maybe I could finagle it to take hot air…But do you know how many cubic meters I'd need? It's too big!"

Rick looked at him with slight anger, but moreso desperation. "If anybody can fill this thing up with hot air, Izzy, it's you."

Serena looked over at Jonathon and saw him discreetly take the golden scepter once again from Izzy's bag. She laughed to herself and silently walked over to him.

"You never quit, do you?"

Jonathon jumped as he realized he had been caught, but relaxed when he saw who caught him. "Gotta have money somehow, love."

"Jonathon, from the moment I've met you, all you do is think about money. Don't you think there's something else you can focus on? Instead of gambling it all?"

Jonathon just walked away at her statement and Serena smiled, knowing she had won.

"Horus!" Ardeth called. The beautiful bird obediently flew to his hand. Ardeth attached another note to his foot and sent him off. The group, minus Izzy, all started walking into the jungles to find the boy. Serena knew they were close. So close, it hurt her.

"So, Rick, what's the plan?" Jonathon asked.

"Let's find some higher ground," Rick replied.

They hadn't gone very far at all when they heard a gunshot pierce the quiet jungle air.

"Horus!" Ardeth screamed. He scanned the skies, looking for his friend, waiting for him to return to his hand, but he never came. Serena put her head down in sadness. She knew this was hard on her husband and she had grown fond of the bird herself.

Ardeth turned back to them. "I must go," he stated.

"What?" Serena exclaimed. How was he going to leave her? She already told them they were in this together. She didn't think she could be separated from him! What if the Army of Anubis arose? She would need him by her side to prevent her death!

"I must let the commanders know where we are."

"You can't go!" Rick said to him firmly, but still pleading.

"If the Army of Anubis arises—"

"I need you to help me find my son."

Serena looked at Ardeth. She knew he was torn between his duties as a Medjai and his desire to help his friends. She saw the expectant looks etched on her friends' faces and decided to step in.

"Rick," she said as she stepped between him and Ardeth. "Ardeth has trained me well. I can help you find him and get him back." She turned to her husband, and tried to muster out the hardest word she'd ever had to say. "Go."

Ardeth looked at her sadly and pulled her aside. Serena looked up into his beautiful brown eyes, still drawn into them now as much as when she had first met him. Tears formed in her own eyes. "I don't want you to go," she admitted.

He grasped her tiny hands in his firm ones. "There is no doubt in my mind that you are prepared for this and you will find the boy. I have faith in you."

Serena looked at him deeply as her eyes filled up even more, turning her vision blurry. She took his face in her hands and pressed her lips to his. He gripped her waist and her hands traveled down to his chest. She never wanted to let go of him. She didn't want to say it, but this could very well be the last time she ever saw him.

Ardeth abruptly ended the kiss and took off in the direction they had come. Serena looked after him as tears traveled down her cheeks. "I love you," she whispered after him. She discreetly wiped away her tears and turned back to her party. Avoiding all eye contact, she went ahead of them. "Come on, it's this way."

* * *

**A/N: AWWW! NO, DON'T GO ARDETH! SERENA NEEDS YOU! Can Serena save Alex without him?  
**


	9. Getting Alex Back

The day ever so slowly turned into night, but the group never stopped. The desire to see Ardeth again kept Serena strong and kept her going. They stopped on a ledge to load up their weapons and prepare for the imminent battle ahead.

"You hear that?" Rick asked as he loaded his gun.

"What?" Serena asked.

"Nothing…Absolutely nothing."

Serena looked around her. It was true. There were no noises in the jungle whatsoever…And from her previous experiences, something bad always followed the silence.

"I say, chaps, look at this!" Jonathon said, though no one really paid attention. "Shrunken heads. I'd love to know how they do that!" Everyone turned to look at him at that comment with incredulous faces. "Just curious," he added.

Serena walked over to him as he picked up a gun and loaded it. "You any good with that?" she asked him.

"Three times Fox and Hound's grand champion, I'll have you know!" He eyed Serena. "You any good with that?" He indicated her sword.

Serena didn't answer, but just smiled. At lightning speed, she whipped out her sword and held it against Jonathon's neck. "I think I am."

"I keep forgetting you've been in constant training."

She laughed and gave him a slight nod as she removed her sword. She went over to the couple as they shared a passionate kiss, and it made Serena wish Ardeth was here with her.

"Evy," she said as they broke apart, "we'll get him back."

"I know. Serena, thank you for all you've done. I know it must be hard to be away from Ardeth."

"I know it's hard to be away from your son. But it'll all work out."

The two women shared a tight hug. This whole trip had basically been one big nightmare and they had never really been able to enjoy each other's company.

They pulled apart and Serena left with Rick, while Evy and Jonathon would stay on the ridge and look out for them from above.

Rick and Serena ran through the jungles, searching for the cult and Alex. Lightning and thunder crashed around them and filled the sky with bright light and loud noise, making Serena even jumpier. They stopped in a small clearing and looked at the sight of dried up bodies in cages, but no sign of the cult.

Then they heard shouts and rapid gunfire. They looked in that direction and took off. They ran into the middle of the spread-out cult, bullets flying in anger. Serena scanned for Alex, but didn't see him. She knew she had to find him fast. He could very well be in deep trouble! She felt the remains of her side braid fall out from the water and from all of the running and tossing her hair back and forth.

"DAD!" she heard an unmistakable voice scream. She whipped her head around, her now loose hair brushing her face, searching for the source of the scream.

"ALEX!" Rick screamed back.

Serena watched as cult members were dragged under the brush by an unseen thing and listened as their screams quickly faded. She kept moving and picking up her feet, not wanting to be next! She shot at the cult members as she kept looking for the boy.

"DAD!" she heard again.

"RICK!" Serena screamed. She found Alex with Lock-Nah and he didn't look happy! She ran to him as he raised his sword ready to strike. She ran as fast as she could and stepped in front of Alex and her sword met his.

"Stay away from him," she growled.

"Serena!" Alex said.

Rick ran and scooped Alex over his shoulder and ran off leaving Serena to fight Lock-Nah. But that was okay. This was a showdown she had been waiting a long time for.

Lock-Nah clanged swords with her in a fiery manner. She knew he was NOT happy at losing his chance at a good kill, especially with someone he'd had to put up with for the last few days. Well she wasn't happy about him trying to kill her husband and a little defenseless boy! Serena defended herself well as the metal clashed against metal.

"You took away my best friend's son!" she screamed at him.

"You took away my satisfaction!" he screamed back.

Serena then threw him a good punch in the face, a swipe to the chest with her sword, then kicked him hard. Lock-Nah delivered a punch back, and it took her a little while to recover from the shock of the blow. But not long enough for him to win. Serena held her sword firmly and swiped him against the chest once more. Then with one final swipe, she glided the sword across his neck. As Serena stood panting, his eyes went wide and he fell to his knees. Before the light left his eyes, she bent down and grabbed his shirt.

"That's for Alex." She released his shirt and he fell to the ground, eyes wide open, though they saw nothing.

She looked at the dead body, when a gunshot rang out next to her. She gasped and looked over. A member of the cult had his gun pointed, but he just fell right over. She looked up to the ridge, and saw Jonathon cocking his gun, having evidently shot the cult member before he hurt her. She smiled at him and sighed. She watched as they left the ridge and went to go meet up with them.

She caught up to them as Evy embraced her child, hugging him close and not letting go for a long time. She smiled at the mother-son relationship and wished she had one of her own.

"Serena!" Alex called. She looked at him as he ran up and hugged her waist. She gasped at the affection he showed toward her and then knelt down to his level and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you," he said in her ear.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" she answered as she ruffled his hair.

She released him and rejoined the group. "Come on, Mom! Come on, Dad! Come on! We have to get to the pyramid. I have to get the bracelet off now!"

Serena's eyes widened. She knew exactly why he was so panicked. All that training with Ardeth hadn't been for nothing!

"Oh, leave it on, Alex!" Jonathon laughed. "Looks good on you!"

"No, you guys! You don't understand! He told me the bracelet will kill me if I don't get inside the pyramid before the sun hits it! Today!"

"Oh, my…" Evy whispered.

They whipped around as the brush shook heavily, indicating the creatures were back.

"Time to go!" Rick screamed as they all started running to the pyramid. Serena looked behind her and saw a million tiny…things! She had no words to describe what they were. Pygmies, maybe? Whatever they were, they were dangerous and they need to get away.

"Where's Jonathon?" Evy screamed. Serena looked behind her and saw that he was indeed no longer with them, but they didn't have time to worry about him. They needed to take care of Alex first.

They ran across a log as Jonathon called out behind them, "WAIT FOR ME!"

"Hurry up, Jonathon!" Evy screamed back. He clumsily ran across the log as Rick lit a stick of dynamite. He threw it at the things and they blew up halfway across the log and fell into the ravine below.

"Rick," Evy whispered. They looked and saw that the sun was coming up, turning the sky a vibrant orange. They were out of time.

"Let's go, Alex!" Rick yelled as he took Alex's arm and they all started running again. Rick and Serena ended up running faster and got separated from Evy and Jonathon.

"Come on, Alex!" Serena urged.

She grabbed Alex's other hand and ran with him. They didn't have much time left. They kept going and going until Alex slowed.

"Guys, the bracelet," he said weakly. Rick picked him up and held him close as he and Serena went faster towards the pyramid. The doorway was in sight. They were so close, but the sun was rising fast! The light got closer and closer to the pyramid. Rick ran faster than Serena and she watched as he bounded to the pyramid and then leaped inside just as the sun hit it. She slowed to catch her breath, then ran up to them.

"Alex!" she cried. She ran to him and bent down and hugged him so tightly, she was afraid she would she might break him. She let go and then cupped his face in her hands. "Are you alright?" she asked.

He smiled and nodded at her and she hugged him again. The bracelet unclicked and he threw it off his wrist into the sand. She stood up and hugged him once more. "You did it, Rick," she breathed.

She heard Evy cry out behind her and the three of them whipped their heads to see that Meela/Anck-su-namun had put a dagger in her stomach! Imhotep tossed Jonathon aside to just prove he could do so and no one could stop him.

"NO!" Rick and Serena screamed as they ran to her. Meela/Anck-su-namun took the dagger out and Evy collapsed to the ground, gasping in pain.

* * *

**A/N: Serena doesn't mess around, Lock-Nah! So, yay for getting Alex back, but...EVY, NO!  
**


	10. Evy's Death

"Jonathon! Jonathon!" Rick screamed as Evy held her wound. Serena went to the other side of her friend and gripped her hand. It was drenched in blood.

"She's going to be alright, isn't she, Dad?" Alex asked.

"She'll be fine," he answered urgently.

"She's going to be alright?" he asked again.

Jonathon came up as Rick begged him, "Just get him…Take him. Take—"

"Your mother's going to be fine, okay?" Jonathon said to Alex.

"Evy?" Serena whispered to her friend as tears formed in her eyes. "Please don't go." Evy looked at her as she squeezed Serena's hand tightly. Serena gripped her hand back with both of her own hands, trying to get her through this horrid experience.

"Oh, my g—" Rick exclaimed as he saw her wound and the blood. "You're real strong. You're gonna make it! You're gonna make it! You're fine!" he urged to his wife.

"He's right, Evy. Come on!" Serena begged.

"What do I do? What do I do, Evy?" Rick cried. "What do I do?"

"Take care of Alex," she choked out. That once fiery bright light began to leave her eyes.

"No, sweetheart, no!" Rick said.

"Evy, please!" Serena cried. "You can't do this. Not yet! Please, Evy. Hold on!"

"I love you," she whispered to Rick. "And you too," she said to Serena.

Her eyes slowly closed and she stopped shaking and her tight grip on Serena's hands loosened.

"No, don't—No. No!" Rick yelled. "Evy? Evy!"

"No," Serena whispered. "NO!" Tears flowed freely down her face as she looked at her lifeless friend.

"Come back, Evy," Rick begged as her head sank down to the sand. "Come back." He fell on her into complete sobs. Serena caressed her friend's head and rubbed her soft hair as she sobbed. "NO!" She couldn't stop the tears. They came too fast. She had only experienced a loss like this once before, but this time was so much, much worse.

Rick composed himself slowly and Serena just hugged the body of her friend to hers as tears still slid down to the ground. Rick hugged his son and told him to stay where they were. He walked into the pyramid to deal with Imhotep and the Scorpion King. Serena wanted to go after him, but she couldn't leave Evy's side. Not yet.

After a couple minutes, a shadow resembling the shape of a scarab passed over the pyramid.

The three sat around as Serena still cradled Evy's limp form. She just couldn't find it in her heart to let go of her, almost as if she did, then Evy was really gone from this world.

"Try to think of it like this, Alex," Jonathon said to his mourning nephew. "She's gone to a better place. You know, like it says in the Good Book."

"The book," Alex said as he sat up straighter. "That's it!"

"What?" Jonathon asked.

"That's it! Come on, Uncle Jon!" Alex began to pull him up. "Come on! Come on! That's it! The book!"

"The Book of the Dead!" Serena said as she came to the same realization. "Well done, Alex!"

Jonathon took Evy up in his arms from Serena's grasp and they all walked towards the pyramid. Just short of the entrance, Serena gasped and fell to her knees. She felt a sharp unimaginable pain course all throughout her body.

"Serena!" Jonathon cried as he and Alex bent down to her.

"The Army of Anubis has arisen," she said quietly. "I haven't got long."

"What are you talking about?" Alex asked.

"Imhotep put a curse on me. Once the Army of Anubis arose, then I would die very soon. He needed me out of the way because I was the reason he was defeated before and he didn't want a repeat of it."

"Don't worry. Dad will do something."

Serena admired his optimism, but wasn't so sure anyone could do anything. Alex helped her up and they all walked into the pyramid.

* * *

**A/N: Uh-oh! Can the group save Serena in time? Or will Imhotep's curse kill her before they have the chance?  
**


	11. I Love You

Serena fought the draining sensation she was feeling and pushed on.

"You realize, of course, that this can only be done by someone who can actually read Ancient Egyptian. I don't know about you, but I'm a tad rusty," Jonathon said as they walked through the pyramid.

Serena eyed him. "Did you not hear anything I said on the balloon? I've spent the last nine years learning Ancient Egyptian."

"Yeah, but you've gotta go help Rick. He's angry, and he's going to end up fighting blindly."

Serena knew he was right. But she was the only one who would be able to read the book.

"Now where?" Jonathon asked as the approached a two-way path.

"We go right," Alex said before Serena could even glance at the wall.

"How do you know?"

'"_Kasheesh Osirian Nye.'_ Basically, 'This way to the Scorpion King.' Mum taught me."

The two adults looked after him as he walked forward. "This just might work," Jonathon remarked.

Serena looked at him. "It just might."

They walked into the room and saw Meela/Anck-su-namun standing guard.

"I've got this," Jonathon said as he cleared his throat to announce his presence. "It's time someone taught you a lesson, wench. Come on!" He looked ridiculous as he prepared to fight her, and her expression showed that she didn't feel threatened.

"The Book of the Dead is over there," Serena whispered to Alex. "You get that, and I need to go find your dad to make sure he doesn't get himself killed."

She turned to go, but Alex called after her. "What if I'm wrong?"

"Alex, you are by far the smartest little boy I have ever met in my life. I can only hope to have a son like you one day. I know you can do this." She gave him a small kiss on the forehead and took off to find Rick. Though the entrance was right there, she couldn't get in without Meela/Anck-su-namun seeing her so she needed to find another way in. She weaved through all kinds of tunnels, but eventually heard the sound of Rick and Imhotep yelling. She ran in the direction she heard the yells and found herself in a huge chamber that belonged to the Scorpion King. Her strength was failing her and she was having a hard time walking, but pushed on anyway.

She looked around and saw Rick and Imhotep really going at each other.

"Rick!" she called.

They both turned to look at her and the look Imhotep gave her made her skin crawl. "YOU!" he screamed. "You are supposed to be dead!"

"Sorry to disappoint you!" she screamed back weakly.

He smiled evilly. "I can see that you are already weakening. It will not be long before you are dead, and I shall rule the Army of Anubis!"

"Not today you're not." She ran over to the two men and she and Rick started beating the pulp out of him. At a pause in the fight, Serena whipped out her sword and the two others grabbed weapons from various places in the chamber. They went at it again, but Imhotep was good and managed to fight against both of them. Their fighting ceased when the ground started to violently shake. From a huge door at the end of the chamber, a giant creature bellowed loudly. It was the Scorpion King… He was bigger than Serena ever imagined and he was hideous! She wished Ardeth was here! He'd know what to do!

Imhotep ran from him, but didn't get far. The Scorpion King went after him, but Imhotep was smart and bowed to him, saying, "I am your servant! I am your servant!"

Serena loathed him for that. It was just like him to say whatever he needed in order to live. He looked at the pair who were still staring at the creature. "But _they _were sent to kill you!"

Serena's eyes widened as the thing looked at them angrily. "He said we've been sent to kill him," Serena translated for Rick. The thing came after them. Well, went after Rick mostly. Serena tried to find something better to fight the creature with, knowing her sword wouldn't be enough.

She turned at the sound of someone yelling and saw the curator firmly trapped in the Scorpion King's pincer. "Save me! Save me!" he cried to Imhotep.

"Why?" Imhotep answered. Serena looked away as the Scorpion King literally ripped up the curator's body to pieces.

Serena fell against a wall to steady herself after her legs decided to give out on her. Rick got pushed to the wall next to her. The two noticed the drawings on the wall and looked at the weird people imprinted on it. One had the tattoo Rick had on his wrist. The next was holding the golden scepter Jonathon loved so much. The third had the scepter extended and it was actually a spear! The last picture was a person who had been impaled with the spear.

"That's it!" Serena exclaimed. "Why didn't I see it before? That scepter is the Spear of Osiris! It's the only thing that can kill the Scorpion King!"

"Okay, now I'm a believer!" Rick said.

"RICK!" they heard. They ran to the entrance and saw Jonathon and Alex.

"Jonathon!" Rick screamed. "It's a spear! The gold stick thing! It's a—It's a spear!"

"Really? Doesn't look like a spear!"

"It opens into one!" Serena screamed.

"Yes? And?"

"Jonathon!" Rick yelled. "It opens up into a spear!"

He and Serena turned and saw the Scorpion King crawling on the walls above them. They ran as it gave chase to them once again. She could distinctly hear Alex and Jonathon screaming, but wasn't surprised. Jonathon wasn't the brave one.

The Scorpion King tossed them into the air and they landed on the ground with a sharp thud. It knocked the wind out of Serena and she felt herself weaken even more. If they didn't do something soon, she was going to die.

"RICK! SERENA!" a familiar voice cried out.

They looked up. "EVY?" they said simultaneously.

"It worked!" Serena cried. The celebration was short lived as one of the Scorpion King's claws crashed down between them again. The battle ensued on as the Scorpion King tried to kill them.

Serena looked over at Alex and Jonathon as they tried to open up the spear. Imhotep took notice of the spear and went to retrieve it.

"Jonathan, quick!" Evy screamed as she went to run over to them. But Meela/Anck-su-namun stopped her and pushed her up against a wall.

Jonathon managed to get the spear open to Serena's amazement. "Jonathon, throw it!" Evy screamed. "Kill the Scorpion King! Send his army back to the Underworld. Do it before Serena dies!"

Serena looked over and saw Jonathon throw it just so it traveled two feet before Imhotep caught it. That wasn't good! Imhotep threw the spear and time slowed down to a crawl. Serena dug deep for all of the strength left in her and kicked the spear out of its path just before it struck the Scorpion King. She fell to the ground weakly, unable to move anymore. The life was literally drained out of her, and she knew she had mere minutes before she would be dead.

* * *

_Ardeth had been fighting for far too long, but finally he killed the last creature of the Army of Anubis. The Medjai couldn't rejoice for long because thousands, maybe millions more of the Army was approaching fast. The Medjai stood in a tight line. Ardeth looked at his fellow men and held up his sword._

_"__TIL DEATH!" he shouted. His men shouted their agreement and lifted up their swords. The Army drew closer and closer, but every single one of the Medjai held their ground. Every second was painful. Ardeth knew very well that this may be the end. For all he knew, his beloved wife was dead by now. He knew that the second the Army had been awakened, her lifeline was ending fast. He pushed the thoughts aside and tried to focus on the Army that was even closer._

_"__I love you, Serena," he said as the Army was finally upon them._


	12. Scorpion King is Defeated

Rick grabbed the spear as the Scorpion King drove him to the edge of an abyss filled with lost souls. He was stopped from falling in as he plunged the spear into the Scorpion King's chest.

"NIY!" Imhotep screamed at his defeat.

Rick released the spear and the Scorpion King burst into black sand. Immediately, Serena felt stronger at his defeat, and the defeat of the Army of Anubis, but she was still much too weak to move. But it was okay. She was going to live.

Or was she? The chamber started to shake and fragments from the ceiling came crashing down. Serena tried to roll out of the way, but the weakness still plagued her and some of them fell on her, pinning her to the ground.

She looked over and saw Rick and Imhotep dangling in the pit of lost souls, trying to hang onto the edge as the souls tried to pull them in.

"Evy, no!" Rick screamed. "Grab Serena and get out of here! Just get out of here!" Serena looked over and saw Evy avoid all the falling pieces of rock and run over to Rick. She dove over to him and helped him out of the pit. Imhotep looked at the couple and called out to his own love, but she ran away, not willing to risk her life like Evy was willing to risk hers. Serena noticed a tear run down his cheek as he realized that she did not really love him and had truly lost her forever. He looked over and gave one last evil smile before letting himself drop and giving himself over to the lost souls.

Evy and Rick tried to avoid the falling rock and ran over to Serena.

"Serena, love, are you alright?" Evy asked her urgently. Serena weakly nodded, but could barely move.

"We've gotta get out of here now!" Rick yelled. He and Evy got all of the rocks off her, and Serena found nothing had broken. Rick picked her up bridal style and they all ran out of the room. They ran up the stairs and saw the vast jungle being swept up into the pyramid.

"Let's go up!" Rick yelled, still carrying Serena in his arms. "This whole place is gonna get sucked up! Let's move up! Go!" They all began to climb the pyramid, but Rick was having a tough time trying to do that and carry Serena.

"Rick," she said weakly. "Leave me behind. I'm just slowing you down!" She saw no reason to live anymore, as she was almost sure that Ardeth was dead.

"I'm not leaving you! We're not losing anyone else!"

They finally reached the top when they realized there was nowhere else to go. "Rick, we're trapped!" Evy yelled over the whooshing of the jungle being sucked up.

They all hugged one another, believing this finally to be their last moment.

But it wasn't. "HEY!" a voice called out. Serena forced her eyes open and saw Izzy and his balloon, evidently using hot air. She gave a weak smile as she realized they were saved.

"Izzy!" Rick cried.

"Come on! Get your butts moving! Hurry up! Hurry up! I don't have all day!"

Alex boarded, then Evy, then Rick lifted Serena up onto the ship and Evy pulled her away from the edge as Rick jumped on. Jonathon fell, but Rick grabbed his foot before he was lost. "Pull me up!" He screamed. Then he spotted the diamond. "Wait! Let me down! Let me down!"

"It's not worth your life, you idiot!"

"Yes, it is! Yes, it is!" He grabbed it just as Izzy lifted them up and away and the pyramid disappeared.

Izzy started cheering as they cleared the ruins. "O'Connell, you almost got me killed!"

"At least you didn't get shot."

Evy ran up to him and thanked him and kissed his cheek heartily. Then she ran over to Serena. "Serena, are you alright?"

She nodded, her strength returning. "The Army was defeated just in time." She looked over at Rick. "Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Evy and Alex helped her sit up as they continued to fly. A worried look crossed Serena's face.

"What is it?" Evy asked.

"What about Ardeth? I don't know where he is or if he's even alive. I mean what if he's dead? I don't know what to do without him! He was the one who was guiding me through all of this. What am I going to do?"

"Serena!" Rick called, interrupting her. "You might wanna see this."

Evy and Alex helped her stand up and brought her to the side of the vessel and she looked down. And there he was, perched on his horse. "ARDETH!" she screamed. She turned to the pilot. "Izzy, take me down!"

The balloon began to lower and then it touched the sand. More of her strength back and a surge of adrenaline coursing through her, she jumped over the edge and started running to him. Ardeth dismounted and started to run to her. They met in the middle and crashed into one another in a very tight embrace. Serena clutched onto him and felt more tears spring to her eyes as she sobbed into his chest. She looked up into his eyes and kissed him hard but passionately and didn't release for a while. Then she finally broke for air and clutched onto him again.

She finally turned back to her friends and walked to them, still hugging Ardeth.

"I guess this is really good-bye this time," she said.

"Most likely," Evy answered. The two women shared a tight hug. They had been through so much together and it was hard to see it all end and know that this was indeed the last time they would be together.

"You'll always be my best friend, Evy."

"You too."

Rick gave her a small hug. "It's been fun, kiddo."

"Don't you think I'm a little old for you to call me that?"

"Never." They smiled and hugged again.

"Nice seeing you again, love," Jonathon said. "You've been a good partner all these years."

"Jonathon, if you know what's best for you, lay off the drinking, the gambling, and the eternal quest for money." She smiled. "I trust Evy will keep you in line." They hugged too before she came to Alex. She bent down to his level. "I wish we'd gotten to spend more time together. I've heard so much about you, and I know we would've had lots and lots to talk about. Ardeth and I could've taught you so much."

"I'm only eight. I may see you again."

Serena laughed. "Maybe, Alex. Maybe."

Alex hugged her and she hugged back his small little frame. "Thank you for all you've done for us."

Serena pulled away. "Are you kidding? You were the smart one this whole time!" She kissed his forehead. "Stay out of trouble," she told him as she touched his nose.

"And thanks for all you've done, Izzy!" she called up to the pilot on the ship.

"No problem! No problem!" The group boarded back onto the vessel and Izzy lifted it up into the air once more. Serena and Ardeth watched as they floated away into the distance. They both kissed their hand and touched their forehead, a symbol of the Medjai for thanks and peace and gratefulness. The group all waved back to them and Serena could hear them shouting bye's to them. She watched until they were just a speck in the distance and she could still hear Izzy and Jonathon arguing over who the diamond belonged to.

"I'm so glad to have you back," Ardeth said as he kissed her again.

"Ardeth, I…I have something to tell you."

"What is it, my love?"

She smiled broadly at him. "I'm pregnant."

There was stunned silence between them before they both started laughing. "You are?"

"Yes!" They laughed even bigger and touched her stomach where a living thing was now growing. They shared another kiss as they realized they were bringing a child of their own into the world.

Serena mounted Ardeth's horse, and he got on behind her. They galloped off to go rejoin the Medjai and continue on with their duties. Though Serena was quite certain she would never see her best friends again, she had been given the most fantastic adventure with them…twice! And she wouldn't trade any of it for anything else in the world.


	13. Author's Note

**A/N: Well, that's the end of Evy and Serena's adventures together! Did you like the twist? Serena and Ardeth are having a baby! YAY! So, I've got some other stuff in the works for all kinds of fandoms that I'll work on more as the days go by, once school begins to slow down a little for me. I will be graduating in three weeks, so yay for that! **

**So, here's a list of what I've got in mind: **

**-A couple one-shots with Ardeth and Serena**

**-A Jelsa (Jack Frost and Elsa) fanfic-plot TBD...**

**-A Phantom of the Opera fanfic: a young girl becomes the lead in Hannibal, but the Phantom is not going to let that slide!**

**-A King Kong fanfic: a huge fangirl gets thrown into the story and realizes she must struggle to survive on the dangerous island!**

**So, yeah, lots of stuff in the works! I'll be working on stories more and more, especially late at night when my writing is at its best! Do I need to get a life, you may ask? Why, yes I do! But with college coming up, writing fanfiction will be harder, so I gotta get it all done now! Wish me luck in the days and be on the lookout for my other fanfictions if you're interested in any of those fandoms :))**


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